Poll: Montanans Uncertain About Federal Tax Plan

MISSOULA – Two months after the U.S. Congress adopted a new tax plan, Montanans are uncertain about what it means for themselves and the state, according to a new University of Montana poll.

Overall, 41 percent of Montanans disapprove of the tax plan, while 34 percent approve and 21 percent are unsure.

In the poll, the level of support for the tax plan varied by political party and income. Republicans showed strong support at 65 percent. Democrats disapproved at 79 percent. Independent voters were more divided, with 39 percent disapproving and 34 percent approving of the tax legislation. Forty-eight percent of individuals who make less than $37,000 annually had the strongest level of disapproval.

Table 1: Federal Tax Plan Approval and Disapproval Ratings

Do you approve or disapprove of the recently adopted tax plan by the U.S. Congress?

Approve

%

Disapprove

%

Don’t Know

%

DK/REF

%

Total

34

41

21

4

$0 - $37,000

24

48

24

4

$37,001 - $88,000

36

41

19

4

$88,001 and above

42

38

19

1

Prefer not to answer

41

29

24

6

Democrat

2

79

15

4

Independent

33

39

23

5

Republican (GOP)

65

8.5

23.5

3

Other

40

45

15

0

Prefer not to answer

29

35

29

7

Woman (Female)

23

47

25.5

4.5

Man (Male)

44

36

16

3

The poll was conducted via telephone between Feb. 1 and Feb. 19 with 603 randomly selected Montana registered voters. The poll has a margin of error of +/-4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. Use of poll findings requires attribution to UM’s Big Sky Poll.

The Big Sky Poll collects and reports information about Montanans’ perceptions of local, state and federal issues. The poll is directed by Sara Rinfret, UM associate professor and Master of Public Administration program director, and Justin Angle, UM associate professor of marketing, in conjunction with seven graduate seminar students from UM’s MPA and Business Analytics programs.

The survey was commissioned with support from UM’s Social Science Research Laboratory. The Big Sky Poll will be offered on an ongoing basis with its next iteration planned for fall 2018.